ICSU managed programme designed to investigate (through an international network of research institutions/programmes) the scientific basis for quantitative assessment of changes in the Earth’s geochemical cycles, covering: atmospheric chemistry (e.g. greenhouse gases, ozone depletion); terrestrial ecosystems; water cycle; coastal-land-ocean interactions; ocean circulation; past global changes.
Component programmes include: International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC); Data and Information System (DIS); Global Analysis, Interpretation and Modeling (GAIM); Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS); Past Global Changes (PAGES); Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC), System for Analysis, Research and Training (START); Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC); Land Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ); Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE); Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC). See separate entries for information on these.
WWW site has an overview of the project and links to component programmes.